Not to continue gushing, but good work deserves its praise, the use of the chiaroscuro art (something that can be hit or miss with me personally) was spot on and I think fit the settling well. Bravo yet again!

Ed, now that I'm deep into the gear piece and considering all the possibilities while keeping FFF (love it btw) I don't know if I missed it but do SUDs, Spytech and Special training stack with existing player edges. There's nothing saying they do not (that I could find during my quick read) so I assume they can?

First off, I'd like to thank everyone for taking Agents of Oblivion to the number one spot on RPGNow! I am honored and humbled. With sales coming in on both our site and theirs, this was no easy feat. Keep up the great work and you will be repaid in kind.

Weird Dave wrote:

HOODY HOO! Can't wait to see the final version! Lots of exciting stuff crammed between those covers, believe you me!

Congratulations Sean and Ed!

Thanks, Dave! It was a lot of fun working closely with Ed on this. We had a shared vision which we will continue to develop with the growth of the line. I should mention Dave made some nice contributions to this project as well as Norm Hensley and Randall Orndorff!

ProfMarks wrote:

Not to continue gushing, but good work deserves its praise, the use of the chiaroscuro art (something that can be hit or miss with me personally) was spot on and I think fit the settling well. Bravo yet again!

Thanks! Cheyenne really did a bang up job with the art. (We truly appreciate all the praise, so don't stop on our account!)

ProfMarks wrote:

Ed, now that I'm deep into the gear piece and considering all the possibilities while keeping FFF (love it btw) I don't know if I missed it but do SUDs, Spytech and Special training stack with existing player edges. There's nothing saying they do not (that I could find during my quick read) so I assume they can?

Nope. As they emulate Edges, they do not stack. (So no Marksman Edge + Fast Track Targeting System, sorry!)

We really put this one through the wringer and I'd just like to to take this opportunity to thank the unsung heroes, our Lead Editor, Lyn Harm, and our editorial staff comprised of Brad Bell, Tom Cadorette, and Jeff Scifert!

I picked up a copy today and I look forward to getting a chance to read through it. I have to say I really like the format ever since you started doing it with Iron Dynasty.

Missed this! It's good to get positive feedback like this as it encourages us to step out of the box more. When we first moved to a more streamlined look and feel, it was a departure for us from more traditional styles and we hoped it would be received well, but confirmation is always welcome. Thank you!

Beldar1215 wrote:

Just bought the PDF/Print bundle. My Sunday group is starting a game in two weeks. I can't wait!!

Fantastic! You'll have plenty to keep you busy in the meantime.

Big_Pete wrote:

Hi,

I just downloaded my copy and had a quick read through. I have to say it looks great, I can't wait to run it next week at my regular game.

Your guys are gonna love this!

chitownroy wrote:

Will definitely be making the purchase tonight.

Be sure to let us know what ya think.

Now on to the sitrep
First off, I want to again say thank you all for Agents of Oblivion's reception! We have a lot of plans for the line and your support and enthusiasm is like pouring fuel on the fire. Along those lines, Ed Wetterman cranked out Mister E Missive #1: Out of the Shadows yesterday. You can find it here. In it, Ed introduces himself (to those unfamiliar with his work) and says hello to those familiar with him from the various great works he did with 12 to Midnight. As the line developer, he talks about the direction of the line and how you can get involved right now to make Agents of Oblivion a dynamic community. If you are excited and can't wait to play, you'll definitely want to check it out.

For those of you who are into the whole design scene, I pull back the curtain a bit in my interview with Ron and Veronica Blessing on The Game's the Thing where I make my 007th appearance on the show. How fitting? Eh. This appearance makes me the most frequent guest (which I thought was pretty neat). I also talk about about the direction we plan to take the line and touch upon a few other large projects in the works (namely Ravaged Earth 2nd Edition and Shaintar: Legends Arise and Unleashed).

Picked it up today, and extremely happy with it! Not sure I'll ever get around to running a game wirh it, but combined with Realms of Cthulu it's giving me some great stuff to use in my home-mde Savage Worlds Dark Heresy gmae I'll be running soon!

Ok, I got it. Now the big problem - when am I going to get a chance to run/play in it?

Possibly Con on the Cob? I'm scrambling to get my adventure notes together for the show!

Sean Patrick Fannon wrote:

As your resident DriveThruRPG guy, I am proud to point out that it's currently Number Three on our Hottest Items List and Number Two on the Hottest Small Press list!

And it's Number One on the RPGNow Hot List!

Thanks buddy!

Calden wrote:

Picked it up today, and extremely happy with it! Not sure I'll ever get around to running a game with it, but combined with Realms of Cthulhu it's giving me some great stuff to use in my home-made Savage Worlds Dark Heresy game I'll be running soon!

Glad to hear it! AoO contains a lot of material which can be ported over to other stuff. We want to hear what people do with it! And, well, everything is better with Realms of Cthulhu. Wait. You are an evil man and I do not think I want to play in your Dark Heresy game. It scares me!

Picked this up last week and just had a chance to look through it. There is a lot to like in here and I'm happy with it. I think there is a lot to recommend SW for espionage and this seems like a comprehensive toolkit, so great job!

There was one area where I was still not as pleased as I would like, however: gearing up. As some may know, this was the bane of both versions of Spycraft, and the AoO system, while much easier, is essentially "SC 2.0 lite."

The problem with this is that, whether I'm watching Alias or Burn Notice, Bourne or Bond, or reading Eisler or Ludlum, the characters always have exactly what they need to effect their plan. They don't have to guess based on incomplete briefing or carry a lot of contingent gear on their character sheet into the field. And I'm not actually a master spy, so I don't want to have to guess what I might need to accomplish a task. Unless I missed something, AoO fails to adequately deal with this issue.

When it comes to gear, I still like Leverage's approach better (which handwaves it altogether). But this is still a lot of fun for a great price.

Picked this up last week and just had a chance to look through it. There is a lot to like in here and I'm happy with it. I think there is a lot to recommend SW for espionage and this seems like a comprehensive toolkit, so great job!

Thanks! As the line grows, we'll particularize a number of elements of the setting. We wanted the base to be easily customizable, hence the light touch on the world and surrounding elements.

drkrash wrote:

There was one area where I was still not as pleased as I would like, however: gearing up. As some may know, this was the bane of both versions of Spycraft, and the AoO system, while much easier, is essentially "SC 2.0 lite."

drkrash wrote:

The problem with this is that, whether I'm watching Alias or Burn Notice, Bourne or Bond, or reading Eisler or Ludlum, the characters always have exactly what they need to effect their plan. They don't have to guess based on incomplete briefing or carry a lot of contingent gear on their character sheet into the field. And I'm not actually a master spy, so I don't want to have to guess what I might need to accomplish a task. Unless I missed something, AoO fails to adequately deal with this issue.

I cannot speak to Alias, as I've never seen it, but I'll address a few of the genre conventions you speak of. In Burn Notice, Michael has no support structure as he's been burned. I'd give him McGyver and a steady supply of cell phones. "When you're a spy..." James Bond, on the other hand, which informed this work has an entire stage where he goes through getting kitted out. In AoO, we certainly have those steps, but they are quite streamlined and can be easily adjusted for a particular group. We've found people really enjoy the gearing up aspect quite a lot. Don't know what you need in the field? That's what field requisitions are for.

drkrash wrote:

When it comes to gear, I still like Leverage's approach better (which handwaves it altogether). But this is still a lot of fun for a great price.

Handwaving things is always the Director's prerogative, but it's far easier to not use certain rules than to generate rules on the fly.